Stained glass window in Temperancevale restored
Yves Frigault and Doris
Blaney of
Temperancevale spent
close to 400 hours over the fall
and winter months restoring
the stained glass window above
the altar at St. Luke’s.
Years of exposure to the
New Brunswick climate had
deteriorated the lead that held
the thousands of pieces of
glass together. Before it
crumbled entirely, it was
removed and taken to Mr.
Frigault’s basement workshop where he designed and traced
an exact pattern of the window
on paper. Then the window was
taken apart and each piece was
soaked in a solution of water,
soda and vinegar. Ms. Blaney, a
long time member of the parish, cleaned each one with a
toothbrush and razor blade,
then Mr. Frigault rebuilt the
window. With lead cane, putty,
solder and infinate patience, he
expertly and lovingly restored
the window to its original
beauty.
During the course of the
restoration, he wondered about
the Rev. Henry William
Tippett, the parish’s first
missionary and the person to
whom the window is dedicated.
Mr. Frigault contacted the
Archives for information.
Conversations with Mr.
Frigault and Ms. Blaney;
“Notes on the History of the
Church of England in the
Parish of Queensbury” by R.P.
Gorham; and information on
the Tippet headstone in Forest
Hill Cemetery revealed the
following:
Henry William Tippet was one of several British-born
clergy who served this diocese
in its early days. Born on June
12, 1814 to Captain and Mrs.
William Tippet in Cornwall,
England, he was ordained
deacon by Bishop Medley on
Dec. 21, 1845 and raised to the
priesthood on Feb. 28, 1847. In
January of 1848 he began his
work as Missionary of
Queensbury, the parish to
which he devoted the rest of
his life.
When Tippet went to
Queensbury, there
was neither church
nor parsonage, but in 1868,
looking back on his first
twenty years in the parish, he noted that he had travelled
30,000 miles, preached 3,000
times, baptized 139 people, and
built three churches (St.
Thomas, Queensbury, 1849;
Holy Trinity, Queensbury, 1853
and St. George’s, Caverhill,
1859) and a parsonage (1849).
His efforts did not end there.
Mr. Tippet began to hold
services in Temperance Vale in
1871 and laid a foundation for a
church. It was moved to a new
site and completed and
consecrated on July 10, 1889.
Six of the 139 baptized by
Mr. Tippet were his own
children: Mary Vivian (1848),
Arthur Patterson (1850),
William Herbert (1851),
Cornelia Sophia (1853), Joseph
Hartley (1854) and Frederick
Harvey (1860). On Feb. 5, 1874,
Mr. Tippet died while on a visit
to his native country and was
buried at St. Saviours,
Manchester, beside his mother.
His wife Cornelia, who was
born to Mr. and Mrs. J.B.
Grindon in Bristol, England,
on Nov. 17, 1819, died in
Fredericton on Nov. 6, 1892. She
is buried in Forest Hill
Cemetery, Fredericton, and her
stone contains information
(aforementioned) about her
husband. At least three of
their children are also buried
there.
The photo of the Rev. H.W.
Tippet was donated to the
Archives by the Robert W.
Tippet family.
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